Pejman Azarmina

BIOGRAPHY

Pejman Azarmina (born in 1973, Tehran) is a composer and santour player based in San Francisco Bay Area. He started studying the santour at age 11 with Master Faramarz Payvar (1933-2009) and graduated from his private class after completing the ‘Advanced Repertoire for the Santour’ in 1994. Azarmina’s works include Shabdiz, Old Persian Dances (Renghaye 7 Dastgah), Rebellious Solitude, Persian Nostalgia as well as several unpublished song cycles and quartets. In addition to recitals in Tehran and London, he has given many educational concerts at a number of academic institutions across the UK. Azarmina’s style of performance is perhaps one of the closest to that of late Master Payvar, yet his interpretation of Persian music is very lean, expressive, and contemporary.